Cruz has a key role in congressional oversight of the Wednesday night accident as chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, which has jurisdiction over aviation safety.

On Wednesday evening, a tragic midair collision occurred between a passenger jet and a US Army helicopter as the aircrafts were approaching Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington, DC. The crash sparked an urgent and large-scale search-and-rescue operation in the nearby Potomac River,

Lawmakers have an interest in boosting direct flights to their states because Reagan is closer to downtown than Dulles.

Emergency alert is displayed on screens at Ronald Reagan National Airport, after American Eagle flight 5342 collided with a helicopter while approaching Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and crashed in the Potomac River, U.S. January 30, 2025. (Reuters/Ken Cedeno)

Dozens of people are feared dead after a military helicopter collided with a civilian airliner midair around Washington, D.C.

An American Airlines plane collided with a military helicopter crashing into the Potomac River near Reagan National Airport (DCA) Wednesday night.

WASHINGTON — A passenger jet collided Wednesday with an Army helicopter while landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington, prompting a large search-and-rescue operation in the nearby Potomac River.

First responders are searching the Potomac River after an aircraft collided with a military helicopter mid-air Wednesday night near Washington D.C. According to the FAA, a PSA Airlines jet collided in the air with a military helicopter while headed towards Runway 33 at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

The airspace around Washington, D.C., is congested and complex — a combination aviation experts have long worried could lead to catastrophe.

The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that a military helicopter collided with a regional jet near Reagan National Airport outside Washington, D.C.

A midair collision between a commercial jet and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Virginia resulted in 67 fatalities, with no conclusive evidence yet on the cause of the crash.